The Last Tryst
by The Bloody Countess
Summary: She vowed that he would never have to suffer again...tonight...she would take him away...


The Last Tryst

**_Disclaimer:_**_ I don't own Gundam Wing or the characters. I merely borrow._

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**_Dedication:_**_ To the people who make up my world. To the people who give my words life._

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**_Note:_**_ This fanfic is copyright of the author, Mainime. Any attempts to plagiarize will attempt in a very slow and painful death or very lengthy and humiliating legal proceedings. Do NOT mess with me._

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She could barely stomach the scent that assaulted her nostrils. The crumbling apartment smelled dank, musty, with the accompanying stench of urine and fecal matter – both human and animal. There was barely enough light to help her find her way, but after a few seconds, her eyes adjusted to the darkness and she was soon able to make out shapes and shadows. Beneath her bare feet, she could hear wood creaking as she found the staircase and slowly began her ascent, her pale hand gripping the dusty old railing. 

Cobwebs were everywhere, blanketing old curtains and rotting furniture. Every few seconds she could hear the skittering of rodents and bugs across the floor and beneath the cracked walls. A shudder ran through her as she slowly walked across the dark hallway, remembering that she had never seen this part of the building.

_'How can he live here? How can he endure it?'_

She felt sorrow for him, for the pain he had to suffer at her expense. She had vowed that she would find a way for him to never hurt again, no matter what.

Tonight she was going to fulfill that promise.

_'Wait for me, my soldier. Wait for me...I'll be there to take you home...'_

~*~*~

His room was at the very end of the hall, and she swiftly made way towards it, memories of those beautiful nights spent with him inside that room flooding her mind. 

He had made her feel loved and wanted, had cherished both her body and her heart all those times. Despite the restrictions imposed on her, she dared break them if only to be with him. The fire escape that she would climb in order to reach him became something she looked forward to, especially when she would find his outstretched arms waiting for her at the very end. 

And then she would fall into his embrace, kissing him and taste the salt of his tears on her lips. And they would make love again and lay in each other's arms until morning, before she would give him a lingering kiss goodbye and return to her political duties.

She remembered how his hands and lips ghosted across her skin, touching her with a gentle reverence that made her weep, feeling his pain transfer to her. He loved her with a fierceness that even he could not comprehend, he had told her once. It consumed him, and it made him even more determined to protect her. And he in turn gave her whatever strength she needed when walls closed in on her and she felt choked from the life she was forced to lead.

The door opened softly and she walked in, praying that all was not too late...

~*~*~

There he was, his face partially covered in the shadows. He looked as stoic as ever, but yet he could not conceal the anguish in his storm-blue eyes. A tear gathered at the corner of his eye and slowly ran down his cheek, glittering in the darkness before falling onto his fisted hands. 

His voice, when he spoke, trembled with suppressed grief. Words came out in short gasps as he tried to keep himself from breaking down. _'Why? Why hadn't he been able to protect her?! It was his JOB! It was what was demanded of him! He had succeeded before! Why did he have to fail now?'_

"God...Relena, why?! Why?!"

She gasped softly when he let out a strangled cry and buried his face in his hands all of a sudden, plunging his fingers through his tousled hair. Suddenly her feet were rooted to the floor and she couldn't reach out to touch him, though he was already so near...

In what little light found its way into the room, she could see his shoulders shake as he bent over, hiding his face in his hands. He cursed himself over and over again, wishing that he could somehow turn back the clock and save her when she had needed him.

She wanted to cry, seeing how much he suffered...how grief had broken him into someone she could barely recognize.

_'Oh Heero...you suffered so much for me...'_

When he looked up, she realized that she had spoken that particular thought out aloud and she swallowed the lump in her throat, reaching out to caress his cheek. Her hands felt cold and she knew more than ever that she would never be able to come back, as the warmth in her was rapidly fading.

He brought up a hand to grasp at her, whispering a soft 'no' when his fingers combed through air. Again he tried to reach for her and pull her into his arms but there was nothing for him to hold. At once, he was hit with the realization that he was alone and he would never get to hold her, except in the dreams that invaded him when he slept.

"I failed you..." He found himself whispering. 

She shook her head. "I don't feel any more pain, Heero...I'm free now," she replied, smiling at him.

Hi voice was pained, his eyes moist with renewed tears. "Relena...why...? Why did you leave?"

"I never left, Heero. Never. What I left behind was a shell, merely a part of myself. It was old, Heero, and it was dying. You knew that it wouldn't last long..."

"...........I miss you, Relena."

"You won't have to miss me forever. You won't ever have to be alone again." 

She stretched her hand out, beckoning him to take it, watching how he slowly stepped forward. "Come with me, Heero," she whispered, her blue-green eyes glittering with the light of the stars. "They're waiting for us..."

When he took her hand in his, it was as if the heaviness in his limbs and in his heart had suddenly been lifted. He lifted his gaze to her, a look of wonder in his face. 

"Is this what it feels like, Relena? Is this what peace feels like?"

She smiled, brushing wild bangs away from stormy blue eyes. "Yes...This is the peace you deserve, my love. I made a promise that you would no longer have to suffer for me or for the colonies...You, who saved me so many times before should no longer have to feel pain..."

He leaned over, their lips meeting in a gentle kiss as moonbeams streamed in through the open window, consuming them in silvery light before fading to give way to dawn as two souls found their way up to where they could dance among the stars for all eternity.

~*~*~

In the morning, they found his body, slumped over his desk, his hand still clutching the newspaper that carried the headlines of the Vice Foreign Minister's succumbing to death after a long battle with leukemia. And though he had not said a proper farewell, his comrades understood that he had finally found his peace.

They gave him a hero's burial, and all the colonies mourned his passing, remembering his bravery, his courage, and his determination to fight for peace...a peace that they would all try their best to keep until the end.

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OWARI

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Wow...that was...**weird**. And I think I feel utterly useless now thanks to this fic. Gah... -_-


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